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WWII’s French Serial Killer Doctor and Other Forgotten Monsters From History

Khalid Elhassan January 27, 2020 32 min

36. The Shady Pol

Soon after he was forced to resign as mayor of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne, Dr. Petiot worked out some of his frustration by murdering one of his patients. Not long thereafter, another patient – who had accused the former mayor of crimes – died in suspicious circumstances. Despite the evidence – including a conviction – of corruption, plus mounting indicia of criminality, Dr. Petitot retained his popularity. Indeed, upon his suspension from office as mayor, the entire town council resigned in protest.

In the autumn of 1931, he was elected as a councilor of the Yonne Department. Within just a few months, however, Dr. and Councilman Petiot was convicted of stealing electricity from his town. Once again, he was forced to resign from public office. So he decided to start a new life in Paris, moving to and opening a medical practice in the French capital.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.